Chinese Cultural Fest at the MAM

On Saturday morning, the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Windhover Hall at the Milwaukee Art Museum was being rung with the sound of giant drums and overrun with Chinese Lions. Running up and down the packed aisles, children screamed with delight at the blinking creatures who cocked their heads at the audience.

It’s a little over a month since the MAM’s Summer of China special exhibition opened, but this may be the first day that the patio wafted out smells of fresh egg rolls and children with acrobatic yo-yos hung out by the Cudahy water fountains.

The weekend-long Chinese Cultural Festival featured many performances sponsored by the Milwaukee Chinese Cultural Community Center, as well as vendors who could write your name in native script, sell you a decorative cheongsam outfit, or teach you the board game “Go” (Weiqi).

Ample crowds lined up to tour the main exhibit: The Emperor’s Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City in the Baker/Rowland Galleries (see below for a sneak preview) as well as other historic and modern exhibits ranging from Han, Tang, and Ming dynasties to the Zhan Wang statue, Artificial Rock No. 43, near the entrance.

We caught the morning portion of the celebration day, featuring not only a Lion Dance but also Tibetan dancers, Shanghai Yang Ge, Kung-fu Fan Dance, bamboo flutist Joel Xue, and soloist Annie Prang. You can page through our slideshow below or catch the whole act on our Flickr account here. MAM’s Summer of China runs now through September 11; for more information visit their website or call 414-224-3200.